8 New Year's Resolution Books for a Happier Year

Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness

"Designer and TED star Ingrid Fetell Lee presents groundbreaking research to explain how making small changes to your surroundings can create extraordinary happiness in your life."

What does it mean to be "joyful?" This book explores the meaning of joy and how to find more of it in your day to day life.

There is great emphasis on the impact color has on our lives. I 100% believe that to be true!

Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done

I listened to this book by Jon Acuff and it was life-changing. I found myself both laughing out loud and groaning with mortification as Jon called me out on some of my most predictable behaviors.

I'm a hardcore procrastinator and perfectionist--both traits that definitely cause major stress and get in the way of happiness.

Finish helped me discover tangible ways to overcome both those negative traits.

If you have ever found yourself abandoning unfinished projects (hobbies, crafting projects, goals for your family, anything!) this book is for you. "Give yourself the gift of done."

The Flipside of this book is Start. That's a better book to read if you have troubles getting going rather than finishing.

The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids

If you really want to connect with your kids and make truly joyful memories as a family, you need to drop everything and read this book.

I DEVOURED it when I first discovered it.

I sort of accidentally stumbled into reading it and then found myself totally unable to put it down until I had finished it in under 24 hours. I immediately had my husband listen to the audio version and we put the recommendations into practice right away.

We don't read as a family every day, but we strive for at least once a week. Some weeks much more.

The impact it has made on our family as a whole is remarkable. I HIGHLY recommend you grab a copy and read it right away in January if you've got children of any age in your life.

Find Your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World

It's not too big a surprise to know that one of the things getting in the way of most people's happiness today is an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

People are struggling to connect in today's busy world. It is so hard to make friends as an adult, isn't it?

After I read Find Your People, I felt extremely motivated to put myself out there and find friends this year. It takes time and nothing happens overnight, but after months of putting in the effort, relationships are forming and I'm definitely happier.

If you need more motivation on why this matters, you'll want to read my article on Christian hospitality here.

And anyone who hosts guests definitely will benefit from this list of realistic cookbooks for entertaining.

The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time

I firmly believe in the power of family dinner to help establish truly happy families.

But before you start to feel any sort of guilt about what that looks like at your house, you need to read about these family dinner habits.

Family dinner doesn't need to be a Normal Rockwell picture and you absolutely CAN have this tradition for your family, no matter how busy your schedules are.

Atomic Habits An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

I listened to this book on audio at the beginning of the year and it definitely had game-changing results for me.

I love the focus on breaking bad habits with teeny-tiny changes and motivating yourself for positive change.

No matter which bad habits you feel are in your way of happiness, this book will help you to break them down and conquer them.

100 Days of Less Hustle, More Jesus: A Devotional Journal

One of the best things I did for myself this year was to establish a solid Morning Basket Habit where I give myself time each day to start on the right foot.

This is one of several books I worked through this year and after a couple months' worth of reading and prayer I absolutely feel more capable of handling life's stresses than I did before.

If you've never read a devotional book before, I strongly encourage you to check out this list of positive and creative devotionals.

If you truly want to be happier in the new year, establish a solid reading habit by joining the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers.

Take the time to read for yourself but even more importantly for your kids! Because, YES. Joining a book club for yourself has amazing benefits to them, too.

Our group is overwhelmingly positive, upbeat, and we LOVE new members. Come by and see what we're reading this month . . .